Weather-themed Groaning.

Whilst it is technically British Summer Time (yes apparently that happened) it certainly doesn't feel like that. I'm getting a little disillusioned with winter - it seems to be greedily demanding far too much of my year, and whilst I enjoy the first few months of good knitwear, hot chocolate and film evenings, by April I'm eager for flowers, picnics and a tan. 

Since arriving home on Saturday there's been a few glimpses of sunshine, and like the fool I am I've assumed that they've meant warmth. Apparently not. I've gone on a few brisk winter walks, through the New Forest and over Hengistbury Head, sunglasses in hand, in the hope that I don't look too ridiculously mish-mashed with all of my layers. 

Light breaks through the gloom.

An avenue of trees in Holmsley

On Tuesday I caught up with a good friend from London that also lives locally. It was so, so good to meet and talk away from the buzz and crazy environment of the City. We sat on the top of Hengistbury Head discussing life, and the things God is speaking to us about, and gazing at the horizon. There wasn't a tower block in sight, just clear blue ocean. Perfection. 

Pretend Summertime

Hengistbury Huts

Yesterday became a day to bake and relax in a friend's warm kitchen. Another London friend, but someone I've known since we were 11. It was great to see her family, and spend time in a place that I lived in almost as much as my own home as we were growing up. We made bread, and then attempted macaroons. Sadly we were lacking ground almonds, and had to lessen our ingredients, which resulted in some not very peaky egg whites. Needless to say, the cake below is not so much a macaroon, but a red velvet ring...with almond flavouring. I was pleased that we managed to salvage something out of the baking wreckage, and for unintentional cake it was pretty tasty!

Baking Endeavours

I hear that it's begun snowing in London. It makes me glad that I'm not there. I have no time for that crunchy white stuff when there have been years when I've been swimming in the sea by this time. So I'm going to continue my hibernation with some reading and a hot cup of tea. I'm not sure there's much else to be done right now!

Recent Reflections

This weekend I took a brief visit back to Bournemouth, leaving London for a couple of days to visit the family and attend my friend's engagement party. I wouldn't normally head back so early into term, but it was a lovely opportunity to hang out with the mother and sister, and visit the coast. On Saturday we drove east to a local little market town called Lymington, and poked around in the stalls and shops. I bagged a bargain, and picked up a Hilary Mantel book for just a pound! and bought some beautiful prints of Dorset to remind me of home whilst at Uni.

Saturday evening was spent with friends celebrating the engagement of one of my oldest friends and her new fiancée  There was lots of pizza making, cake and charades. Very, very fun, and great to be together with people that aren't often in the same place at once.

Before I had to dash back to the City though, there was time for a quick trip over Hengistbury Head. Still one of my favourite places, with it's view over Bournemouth and Christchurch, the choppy sea, and the rows of beach huts. It is one of the things I miss most about living in East London where wide open spaces are hard to come by, and are inevitably surrounded by offices and ugly high-rise housing. 

Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth

I was fortunate enough to make a coach that got me back to London in time for church, which was just exceptional this week. The preach was all about stories - how our lives are stories, and yet we're invited to live a bigger story, a more exciting adventure, by becoming characters in God's story, in the great story of all the earth. Anything to do with literature is obviously going to get me from the start, but it was just the most beautiful look at the invitation God gives to his people to live as part of something that is so much bigger than any one individual. We were looking at a passage in the Gospels where Jesus calls the disciples, and I was blown away that he didn't offer them safety, or worldly security, but he did promise them adventure through a relationship with Him. 

The evening was finished off with some student training on working out what you want to do in life. Always helpful, and always needed. As a result, some friends and I grabbed some wine, some chocolate and our notebooks and went and chatted and dreamt about the lives we want to live. It was the best end to a lovely weekend. 

Wine and chocolate to inspire dreaming

And yet there was some incredibly sad news I heard over the past couple of days too. Not directly affecting me, but someone I'm very close to. And in amongst all my reflections on life, I've been faced with the unexpected, by the fact that life is not infinite, at least not in this world. And neither are we masters of it. 

In the face of all that, a quote from Lord of the Rings which was referenced in church on Sunday, has stuck with me. Our stories are always going to involve conflict, they would be very dull tales if they didn't, and yet in the face of conflict, there is hope; a promise of grace. 

“I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself! Is everything sad going to come untrue?” Samwise Gamgee speaking to Gandalf.

Catching Up

True to form, I've somewhat struggled to blog regularly since coming home. It's been a bit of a blur since coming back, and though I'm still struck every so often for Mile End and the joys of city life, I've got used to being back in the south. 

(After watching the football the other day, which in itself was a bit of a surprise, I caught some of the hackney weekend being aired and all I could see was the beautiful East. I might have squealed and got a tad emotional. Woops.) 

Anyway, tonight is my only evening in for the next two weeks. I've somehow acquired a job, but unfortunately it means working til midnight most of the time. Boo. I fear this could hinder seeing friends, but we shall see! The pennies will certainly be helpful as we've finally booked our summer holiday! to PISA we shall go. Well near enough, it's some sort of villa in the middle of nowhere. I am insanely excited considering it is months away. 

So for some more recent news, I've been to the beach and the forest a fair bit, might've got caught in some some sort of bog a couple of days ago too. Oh and it was the bessie's 21st birthday, so we had a huge BBQ and a lot of pimms. Today I went swimming, and then watched Toy Story 2 which was an absolute treat. I am one of those shocking people that has yet to see the third one, so I was getting prepared. 

I've also begun to learn guitar. Well, I say learn, I've learnt the strings or whatever for about five chords. I was greatly saddened by the need to chop my nails off though, so have yet to proceed. Also, it hurt my hands!

With all of that going on, there's not been much time for blogging so I do apologise. I've just found photos from my last days in London and my return to the coast, so enjoy some cocktail inspired photos, and a few with a nice dose of nature.

Jubilee Celebrations

Afternoon Tea at the Primrose Bakery

Our last night out in Shoreditch

The overflowing car as I packed up my life!

The view from campus to Canary Wharf

The hometown

The lake by Hengistbury Head

Watching the Sunset

A rather disgruntled cow

That's probably enough photo spamming for now! No doubt there'll be a few more over the next few weeks. I am ever so excited about the return of the rest of my friends. They've all become very old and are graduating and such, which is nothing but scary pyjamas. I am uber proud of them though, and think they're the absolute bees knees so I can't wait til we're all reunited!

Enough rambling, I must go to bed. In the meantime, I hope you are all as freaked out as I am that Harry Potter is 15 years old. The fact that I remember it all coming out makes me feel ancient.

You can check out old article clips here at The Guardian!

Love and peace amigos xxxxxxxxxx